Governor for steam-engines



MARSHAL VHEELER, OF HONESDALE, PENNSYLVANIA.

GOVERNOR FOR STEAM-ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 15,095, dated June 10, 1856.

To all 107mmt may concern:

Be it known that I, MARSHAL VHEELER, of Honesdale, in the county of Vayne and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improved Steam-Engine Governor; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, Figure 1 being a. side view of a portion of a steam pipe with my improved governor combined therewith; Fig. 2, an end view of the same; Fig. 3, a vertical longitudinal section, and Fig. 4 a plan of a part of the apparatus detached.

Simi-lar letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

In the accompanying drawings A, is the steam pipe, and B, is an offset rising from said pipe. The. left hand end of said steam pipe communicates with a steam boiler, and the right hand end of said pipe is connected with a steam engine. Near the left hand end of the steam pipe A, a throttle valve a, is combined with it in any suitable manner,-and is operated by the lever fr. A short distance to the left of the offset B, the governing valve b, is located in an enlargement of the steam pipe, and its axle u, is connected to the piston (ZY, within the offset B, and with its controlling spring j, in such a manner that the degree of pressure of the steam on the right hand side of the valve 5,-caused by the resistance it may meet with in passing through the engine, will, by its greater or less degree of pressure on the piston (Z, in connection with the action of the counteracting spring j, so regulate the size of the governing valve aperture as to admit an amount of steam to the engine exactly proportioned to the power which said engine is required to exert: and in case that from any cause-such as the bursting of the cylinder-head-there should be no obstacle to the escape of the steam through the engine or the steam-pipe, the spring j, will instantly close the valve b, and prevent the escape of steam from the boiler; and thereby prove the means of saving many lives.

Two uprights f, f, bolted to opposite sides of the offset B, and having their upper ends connected to each other by the cap g, form a frame for guiding the rod e, of the piston CZ. On the lower portion of the piston rod e, a screw is cut which receives the regulating nut m; a guiding plate p, whose forked ends embrace the uprights f, f, rests upon the nut m-,-and upon. the plate 2?, a cup n, is placed which receives the lower end of the spiral spring j, which embraces the piston rod Ac. The piston rod e, plays freely through the aperture in the plate p, and in the cup n, and the forked ends of the plate y), loosely embrace the uprights j', f, of the guiding frame. The upper portion of the piston rod e, passes through a smooth aperture in the nut la., which is screwed into a screw aperture in the center of the cap g, of the. guiding frame f, f, g. The upper end of the spring j, bears against the lower end of the nut L, or against a. washer t, inserted between said spring and nut, as shown in Fig. 3. By screwing down the nut it, the spring can be condensed and its power increased to any desired degree. By turning the lower nut m, the spring j, can also be stitfened. The outer surfaces of the uprights f, f, may be graduated and numbered so as to indicate the number of pounds of pressure upon each square inch of the under surface of the piston (Z, in the offset B. The piston rod e, extends for a suitable distance above the cap g, of its guiding frame, and a cross-head i, is secured to its upper end, whose rounded extremities are connected to the cranks o, o, on the Valve axle u, by means of the side rods 7i, 7c.

The spring y', must be of sufficient power and stiffness to close the valve Z), at,the moment that the steam passing through the steam pipe ceases to meet with resistance,- but not so great as to entirely close the valve when the steam passes through and imparts motion to the piston of the engine.

To enable the steam to reach the engine at starting, without the necessity of opening the governing valve b, by leVera-ge,-a circuit pipe C, is combined with thev steampipe A, in such a manner as to communicate with the steam pipe on each side of the governing valve Z), when the valve c, in said circuit pipe, is opened by its hand lever w. In starting the engine, the throttle valve a, and the valve 0, in the circuit pipe C, are opened, and as soon as the pressure of steam on the piston has opened the governing Valve b, the valve c, should be closed. The governing valve Z), will then regulate the How of steam to the engine in proportion to At-he amount of service performed by it, in

the manner hereinbefore set forth. When the entire force of the steam in the boiler is required to work the engine, the governing valve I), will be thrown wide open and when a less degree of power is required the said valve will be partially closed.

I am aware that the tlow of' steam into the cylinder has been regulated by the differential action of the steam before and behind the throttle valve upon a piston placed in a cylinder' outside of the steam pipe and communicating therewith by means of pipes opening into the steampipe before and behind the throttle valve.

I am also aware that a pressure regulator, similar to mine, has been used for a different purpose, viz7 to close the throttle when the pressure of steam which has passed the throttle is in eXcess,-but this is not a governor' in the same strict sense that mine is-for I propose to regulate the flow of steam in proportion to the resistance in the cylinder caused by the load r work upon its piston, and that too without using the differential action above described. Therefore,

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The pressure piston working in an offset chamber placed between the throttle and the engine cylinder and combined with the throttle valve; said pressure piston being MARSHAL WHEELER Witnesses Z. C. ROBBINS, FREDERICK MATHYS. 

